As I don't use my mobile much and didn't want to spend a fortune on a new one, I recently 'upgraded' my old Galaxy Ace to a Galaxy Fame.

Big Mistake.

Whilst it has a marginally superior spec to the Ace, using it's like walking through treacle wearing a pair of lead boots, which have been tied together. In the dark.

I know you only get what you pay for, but I've tried all of the obvious ways to speed it up, turning off animations, removing (where possible) unused apps etc, but it's still pretty useless. Apart from binning it (which I probably will) can anyone suggest any tweaks which might bring the Galaxy Lazarus into the year 2015 ?

http://www.s21.com/samsung-galaxy-fame.htm

Samsung phones are good at high and mid end.

But don't ever by a low end one.

You can get much better phones for the same price from others. What's your budget?

Bit late for that by the sounds of it- the OP has already opted for the fame.

I wonder if it is possible to downgrade it to an older version of android somehow.....

I'm going to have to replace it, It really is unusable for anything other than calls - and even then, it's so slow to respond. I'll put the Fame on ebay and look to spend £150 - £200.
Any suggestions gratefully received.

I replied as did a couple of others to the thread below - my best bet would be the Motorola Moto G although there is a new one coming out shortly (afraid I'm not too sure how that will be though):

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2037794

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorola-5-I...eywords=moto+g

Less than your budget.

1000 x better than Galaxy Fame.

Just be aware this phone takes a micro sim. So you'll need to ask your network to swap your current SIM to a Micro SIM. Same number and tariff, just smaller SIM card.

Going to £200 puts you firmly into the mid range and you've loads of choice at that price point. Obviously the Moto G is worth considering, but the S4 mini is also obtainable at under £200 - if you haven't been put off Samsung that is.

The former Samsung flagships S3 and maybe even S4 might be possible at the top end of your budget- although the latter might be refurbished.

Me? I'd probably choose the S4 mini for 4G, but I haven't just had your bad Samsung experience....

I just bought an LG G3 used on the bay at £230 these look a lot better than what my S4 will be so selling that at £160 but its in average condition and has some makes round its edge.

Ive had the misfortune of having to deal with a Galaxy Ace and a Galaxy Young 2 and they are awful! Was glad I didn't own them. The Moto G (4G) like others have said is a far better phone.

Many thanks for the suggestions - just about to start reading up on them now !

I've got the S4mini and Moto G (original 3G '2013' model) and both are very similar in most respects although I prefer the Moto G's brighter higher resolution screen and it has better GPS reception. The S4mini has 4G and more featuers and a better camera... battery life seems slightly better on the Moto G. Both are excellent budget phones, the MotoG probably better value for its given performance.

I am surprised Jabba didn't mention the Huawei Honor 6 4G

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Honor-Smartp...huawei+honor+6

If you can stretch your budget just a little you would get a phone with decent specs and a good camera. Reviews for said device have been exceptionally positive.

EDIT: I should also add that if it develops a fault I think Amazon handle the after sales process as well.

After an Ace and a Fame most things would be a decent upgrade. The Moto E is a decent little phone that runs quickly enough. This can be had for less than £50 if you shop around. The Moto G is good as stated but also look for deals like Vodafone selling the LG G2 for £150.

It's good.

But he said budget is £150 to £200. So I stayed within budget, well under budget technically

Of course if the OP is willing to spend £250 then you can't get a better phone.

A couple of people slagging off the Ace. I didn't think the Ace was supposedly to be that bad?...... although obviously it is waaay old now.

Two things crippled the Ace. Firstly it was over priced for the specs (low red screen, only 278mb of ram and slow processor). Secondly it had a pitiful amount of onboard storage for apps, just 158mb. For less than £100 in January 2011 this would have been just about forgivable however it was priced at over £200.